Strange
by DarkAngel0410
Summary: Alex follows Chris and finds out something he didn't know. Slash, AU


**Story Title:** Strange

**Story Type: **Slash, AU

**Characters: **Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley

**Pairings: **MMG

**Rating: **PG-13/NC-17

**Series: **Moonstruck

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, because if they were, I'd be too exhausted to do anything besides gloat. As you've probably guessed by now, they belong to themselves and TNA.

**Warnings: **Slash, language, au

**A/N: **So, here we are, the beginning of another series. You think I'd know better by now, but no. Oh, well. I don't know how many will end up being in this, but I've got at least one more planned. Enjoy, peeps. These aren't really going to be connected, expect that they happen in the same 'verse.

Chris left the bar, stumbling briefly when the cold air hit him. Shaking his head to clear it, he made his way down the street. The band had a gig across town the next night, and Chris knew he'd have to get up early, go grab Alex and Petey, and then meet the rest of the guys there to set up everything.

About halfway home, he realized someone was following him. Pausing, he turned around and when he didn't see anything, he shrugged and kept walking. As he crossed the street, he heard a bark and then a painful whine as a car clipped an animal.

Chris stopped and turned around; he saw a dog staggering across the road and sinking down on the sidewalk once he reached it. Even though he usually wasn't much of a dog person, Chris went and crouched down next to it. Except, hell, that had to be the biggest fucken dog he had ever seen before.

"Hey, buddy, you alright?" Chris asked softly, not wanting to startle the animal. He reached a hand out, palm up, for the dog to smell. To his surprise, the dog let out a happy whine and licked his hand. Chris scratched his ears before running a hand down the dog's back to see if there was any damage.

When Chris got to his hind legs, the dog whimpered and snapped at Chris. Chris raised an eyebrow and shook his head; for some reason he hadn't even felt nervous at the sight of sharp teeth. He was sure that the dog wasn't going to hurt him at all. He couldn't even hazard a guess why, but he knew it was true.

Looking down into the dog's eyes, Chris was struck by the absurd notion that he had seen them before; those brown, expressive eyes reminded him of Alex. After a second, he laughed it off; Alex would kick his ass if he knew Chris was comparing him to some stray.

"Well, dude, I don't know what to tell you," Chris said, absently petting the dog. "I don't think you're really hurt, but that leg definitely got bruised. I guess you can come back to my place, at least until morning. Then we can figure out what to do with you. Can you walk, or do you need me to carry you?"

The dog shot him a look that clearly said 'Fuck you, asshole', and got to his feet. Once again, Chris was reminded vividly of his best friend and he chuckled as he stood up.

Standing, the dog came almost up to Chris's chest. "Jesus, what the fuck are they feeding you? You've got to be the biggest dog I've ever come across."

Snickering at the disgusted snort coming from the animal next to him, Chris corrected himself. "Sorry; biggest _wolf_ I've ever seen. Better?"

Barking happily, the wolf trotted ahead of him. When Chris didn't follow right away, he stopped and looked back at him. Tilting his head, he looked at Chris curiously and barked softly.

Chris rubbed a hand over his face and hurried up after the wolf. "I've gotta stop drinking so much. There's no way a fucken animal should remind me of my best friend."

After a few minutes, Chris laughed softly, scratching the animals ears. "Maybe I'll just call you 'Alex', anyway; it suits you for some reason, and, god knows, he's been on my mind enough lately."

Alex's ears flicked forward slightly and he turned his head toward Chris, but Chris told himself that he imagined the look of interest on the wolf's face; that would be a little much, even with how much Chris had been drinking.

They continued walking and, for once, Chris felt content. It wasn't a feeling he was used to; especially lately. No matter what was going on or what he was doing, he was unsettled, impatient. There was only one person that still made him not want to claw off his own face out of boredom. And that alone had been enough to make Chris sit up and pay attention years ago. Since then, he had accepted a lot of things about himself; the biggest being that he was in love with his best friend.

Sighing, he fished his keys out of his pocket and walked up the steps to his apartment. Alex crowded next to him, shoving him against the railing and disappearing into the hall as soon as the door was open.

"Fucken asshole," Chris muttered, closing the door and throwing the deadbolt on before he went into the kitchen.

Grabbing a beer out of the fridge, he toed off his sneakers before going into the living room and collapsing onto the couch. Alex wandered over to him and after sniffing him for a minute, sat down and laid his head on Chris's lap.

Chris smiled, ruffling the wolf's fur. "You're cool, man; wish I could keep you. I'm never home and I bet you eat like a fucken horse."

Chris sighed and took a drink from his bottle. "Look at me; by myself on a Friday night, sucking down a beer and talking to a fucken animal like it can understand me. Could I be any more pathetic? Oh, wait, I forgot; I'm in love with my best friend, who is probably fucking the hell out of some rat right now. That should assure me a place in the pathetic hall of fame."

At his words, Alex lifted his head and barked sharply. "Oh, shut up," Chris said companionably enough. He leaned over and put the empty bottle on the coffee table before he laid down on the couch. "I know it's retarded, and I'm a fucken idiot, but there's nothing I can do about it.

"I've tried to ignore it, get rid of it. Hell, I even tried fucking every girl I came across and when that didn't work, I tried fucking every guy I ran into, but it still didn't go away. For two years, I lied to myself; day in and day out, every time I fucked my girlfriend or anyone else. Every time I told her I loved her," Chris said quietly, closing his eyes.

He smiled when he felt Alex nudging at his arm and whining. "Chill out," Chris told him, moving his arm so he could rest it on the back of the wolf's neck. "You'd think I just told you I was going to shoot you or something."

Yawning, Chris settled more comfortably on the couch and decided to sleep there instead of hauling himself up the stairs. "Night, 'Lex," he muttered before he passed out.

Alex sat there, his head tilted to the side as he looked at Chris. He hadn't even wanted to follow Chris earlier. But while Alex knew what was going on, and he would remember what happened when he woke up in the morning, right now, the wolf was very firmly in charge. And as soon as he had scented Chris when they had passed the bar, the wolf had decided he wanted to be with Chris, and right away.

And while Alex's self control was exceptionally good, there were some things that he couldn't fight when he was a wolf, and being close to Chris was one of them. And, if he was honest with himself, he didn't really want to fight it. Whether he was wolf or human, Chris had always called to him.

Alex wandered around the apartment, smelling Chris every where. There were traces of Petey, and even himself, on the floor and the kitchen table and especially in the back room where Chris had his systems and gaming TV. Unable to control the instinct that told him to check every part of the apartment, to make sure it was safe for Chris, he went through all the rooms on the bottom floor.

Trying to ignore that thought, Alex made his way up the stairs. Once he was in Chris's bedroom, he stopped and stared at the bed before he shook his head. He went to leave and caught a faint whiff of his own scent.

Curious, Alex followed it until he got to Chris's pillow. After pushing it out of the way, Alex found one of his favorite shirts there, one he had left when he had crashed in the spare room a couple weeks ago. When he had asked Chris to keep an eye out for it, Chris had nodded absently and then changed the subject.

Part of him was delighted at this sign that his mate was so focused on him, but the human part of him was fighting it. There was no way Chris was his mate, that tiny part of his brain that was still human during the full moon argued; even if he had a little crush on his best friend, Alex knew that if Chris was really his mate, there was no way he would have...

Startled, Alex realized it had been a long time since he had had sex; it had never occurred to him to think about it. The only time he wanted sex, at all any more, was when he was with Chris. Whining unhappily, Alex got up and went down the stairs.

If Chris was his mate -and Alex, once he actually thought about it, had to admit it was a possibility- then Alex was going to have to figure out a lot of things, and fast. Already, he could feel the urge to to go to Chris, and he knew it was only going to get worse now that he had admitted the truth to himself -and when he thought about what Chris had unintentionally confessed earlier, a low, needy growl slipped out before he could stop it.

But even with the way his blood was practically singing for him to go to Chris, there was no way he was making a move in that direction until he had told Chris everything. He respected Chris too much for anything else.

For tonight, he was going to have to be content with keeping an eye on Chris and then tomorrow, he'd tell him, and then they'd see what happened. Whatever they ended up doing, Alex wanted to make sure Chris understood that he wasn't forcing Chris into anything.

Once he was at the bottom of the stairs, Alex halted, his ears straining forward. A low, almost pornographic moan came from the living room, and it was all he could do not to go charging in there and see exactly what Chris was doing. It would be better if he stayed out here, he didn't need to sexually frustrate himself even more.

After another moan came from the other room, Alex could feel his resolve crumbling. Chris mumbled something and Alex found himself creeping towards him. He crawled forward, keeping his body low to the ground, until he could peek around the corner. The sight that met his eyes had his breath catching and he couldn't help the whimper that left his throat.

Chris was still passed out, but now Alex could see his stomach where his shirt had gotten moved, and the fierce look on his face was one that Alex had never seen before.

"'Lex," Chris moaned, the need and sheer want in his voice stunning Alex. He moaned again and Alex watched mesmerized as his hips shifted and then rolled, thrusting up. Chris's right hand skimmed down his chest before snaking under the waistband of his jeans, the fingers of his left hand threaded through his own hair. He let out a breathy sigh before he started moving, his hand hitting the inside of his jeans on every upstroke.

Alex was half way to the couch before he even realized what he was moving. Freezing, he tried to gather together the ragged remains of his self control, but his wolf was snarling at him -both figuratively and literally- trying to get him closer to Chris; to do what, the human part of Alex didn't know, and he sure as hell didn't want to think about it, either.

Inhaling deeply, Alex tried to calm himself down, but as Chris's scent hit his nose, dark and rich and screaming sex, Alex shuddered and moaned. But all that came out was a low whine and Alex felt like his control was being shredded, piece by piece.

Without a second thought, Alex turned and ran up the stairs, trying to ignore both the need that was pulsing through his system and the way his wolf was clawing at the inside of his body, howling with anger. Alex knew it had to be almost dawn; if it wasn't, there was no way he'd be able to control himself enough to get out of that room.

He trotted into Chris's room and after a minute, managed to wedge himself under the bed. It was hot and uncomfortable, and it felt too much like a cage for him to actually be able to relax, but Alex figured it was better then having to deal with being downstairs. Yawning, he wiggled around until he was a little more comfortable. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

Chris opened his eyes and immediately closed them again. "Motherfucker," he muttered, slowly trying to get his eyes used to the glare. He sat up and looked around the room before standing up. Walking into the kitchen, he surveyed it, still puzzled. He winced when he noticed the way his boxers rubbed against his skin.

Sighing resignedly, he headed to the stairs, stripping off his jeans and underwear and throwing them into the hamper in the bathroom.

"Guess I should be used to it by now," Chris murmured, still searching as he went to his room. "But where the fuck did that dog go?"

Walking over to his dresser, he pulled out a pair of boxers and put them on. He tripped when he was by his bed, stumbling right onto the mattress.

"What the fuck," Chris said, sitting on the bed and glaring at the floor. "Today is already fucked and..."

Chris trailed off, staring at the legs sprawled out on the floor. He assumed the rest of the body was under the bed, and judging by the soft snoring he could hear, they were alive, but that still didn't answer why they were there.

They hadn't moved at all when Chris had tripped, and he wasn't surprised; Alex had always slept like he was dead and it would take more then that to wake him. How he knew it was Alex, Chris wasn't sure, but he did.

He tried nudging Alex's leg, repeatedly, and when that didn't work, he rolled his eyes and viciously kicked hm, snickering when his leg jerked and he heard a muffled, "Son of a bitch," as Alex hit his head on the bottom of the box spring.

"Not that I'm complaining, 'Lex," Chris said. "But what the fuck are you doing under my bed?"

Muttering to himself, Alex got out from under the bed and sat up, looking around the room before glancing at his best friend. Chris was still smiling, but there was a tightening around his eyes that Alex didn't remember seeing before.

Inhaling softly, Alex tried to see if he could smell what was wrong with him. As Chris's scent hit his nose, Alex's breath caught in his throat. There it was again, same as last night, and Alex could feel his wolf rubbing against his skin, and with a shuddering breath, he shoved the wolf back down.

Chris tried to keep his body from reacting to the sight of Alex naked, but after drinking last night and only getting a couple hours sleep, not to mention the sheer weirdness of finding that dog -where the fuck was it?- and his self control just wasn't as good as it usually was.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Alex halfheartedly apologized. "Do you mind if I borrow some jeans or something?"

"Sure," Chris said, getting up and going to his dresser. He jerked open of the drawers and grabbed a pair of pants and flung them at Alex without turning around.

Bracing his hands on the dresser, Chris closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Unbidden, an image of Alex pulling the jeans on, bare underneath, and leaving the button undone, flashed into his brain and he couldn't help the low moan that escaped.

Immediately biting his lip, Chris hoped, fervently, that Alex hadn't heard him. He didn't know what the fuck was going on, but it was almost impossible for him to ignore the way he wanted to grab Alex and throw him onto the bed and cover him... With another moan, he gripped the wood until his knuckles turned white.

Alex pulled on the pants, casting a worried look at Chris. He could see the muscles in Chris's back tensing and even without his hyped up senses, it wasn't hard to figure out what was bothering Chris. Alex had no clue why Chris was acting like this; well, that wasn't entirely true. Obviously, Chris was reacting to Alex's growing arousal; ever since he had woken up, Alex had been fighting to keep himself calm enough to talk to Chris, but it wasn't working. Alex couldn't remember the last time he had been this needy for someone.

There was no doubt that Chris was his mate, not now. Alex just couldn't figure out why Chris was reacting this way to him. The whole time he had been growing up, he had never seen his mom react to his dad. Sure, she had been attracted to him, but there had never been this kind of _craving_ that he could see was gripping Chris -and himself. His father had often looked at his mother like she was the be all and end all of his world, but he had never gotten the feeling that she reciprocated it. When he was old enough to wonder about it, Alex had always thought it was because she was human and didn't feel the bond as strongly as a wolf would.

But now Alex was rethinking that. There was no question that Chris was human and he was feeling the mating heat just as bad as Alex was. Sighing, Alex ran a hand through his hair before going to Chris.

"Hey, man, you OK?" He asked softly, resting his hand on Chris's lower back.

Chris tensed and then relaxed slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine, 'Lex. I don't know why I'm all loopy and shit."

"I do," Alex told him, dropping his hand. Chris bit his lip, hard, to keep back the whimper that wanted to escape and tasted blood.

Alex's nostrils flared and he turned away, pacing until he reached the far wall. "Look, man, I need to tell you something," he said quietly, leaning against the wall.

Chris tried to collect himself enough to move away from the dresser, and after a minute, he walked over to the bed and sat down. He tried to arrange himself on the bed so his hard on wasn't blatantly obvious but the best he could settle for was leaning back on his elbows with his right ankle on his left knee.

"So, what's up?" Chris asked, praying that Alex wasn't going to call him on the fact that he had morning wood and rib him mercilessly about it. Or even worse, stop and wonder why Chris would still be that excited just talking to his best friend.

"You remember last night when you found that wolf," Alex started, but Chris interrupted him. "Yeah, he was fucken huge," he said excitedly, leaning forward and forgetting about everything else for a minute. "Biggest dog I ever fucken saw. But how did you know? Did you see him when you came in?"

Alex winced at the word dog but reminded himself that now wasn't the time to lecture Chris about it.

"Not exactly," Alex answered, looking away from Chris for a minute before focusing back on him. "I've never said this to anyone before, but I need to tell you. First, I want to apologize to you, because I've been lying to you from the first second I met you.

"At first, it was because I didn't know you, and then I _did_ know you, and I was afraid. Afraid of a lot of things, but mostly I was afraid you'd never want to talk to me again."

"Come on, 'Lex, I'll always be your friend," Chris assured him, smiling. "Nothing's going to change that."

"I hope so," Alex muttered before he raised his voice and went on. "Well, the thing is... The reason I knew about the wolf from last night is, well, I'm the wolf. That is, I turn into a wolf. Sometimes."

Chris looked at for a minute before he grinned. "Yeah, right, 'Lex. Are you ribbing me or something?"

He frowned when Alex continued to stand there, looking at him. Alex might like to rib him once in a while, but he never out right lied; Chris believed that with everything he was. So that meant... That was impossible, people didn't turn into animals. But if Alex didn't lie, then what the hell was he supposed to believe?

Chris looked at Alex, his mind racing. He opened his mouth and then shut it again, not even sure of what he was going to say. If it was true, it would explain why a fucken dog reminded him of his best friend.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth," Alex told him, his voice low. He stripped off his pants and before Chris could do more stare there was a faint shimmer in the air, and there was a black wolf with shaggy fur sitting where his best friend had been standing.

"Holy fuck," Chris breathed, his face mirroring his amazement. "Shit. Is that really you, 'Lex?"

Alex barked softly, walking slowly towards him. Once he reached Chris, he sat down in front of him. Chris raised his hand hesitantly and Alex nudged his hand and rubbed his head against Chris's palm. Chris laughed and rubbed his head affectionately.

Alex whined happily and switched back to his human shape. Suddenly face to face with Alex again, and his hand still resting on top of his head, Chris swallowed and dropped his hand. He was abruptly aware of the fact that he was still hard and that Alex was naked again.

"So it was you last night," Chris said, unable to break eye contact with Alex. "Explains why I couldn't find any animals around here when I woke up. Hey, is your leg alright?"

"Yeah, my leg's fine," Alex chuckled, his voice a little strained. He was also very conscious of the fact that Chris was still hard. Being this close to him was pure torture but Alex couldn't pull away. "I was healed by the time we got back here; no big deal."

"Right," Chris snorted, rolling his eyes. "Getting hit by a care is nothing, jack off. I mean – Wait. It _was_ you last night. That means you...heard me say.."

Chris's faced drained of all color and he stared in horror at Alex before he tried to smile and shrug it off, but Alex could see how upset he was about it. Without thinking about it, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Chris's, instinctively wanting to make his mate feel better.

For a minute, Chris forget everything; all the weariness and resignation of the past two years disappearing, and for once, the knowledge that he was in love with his best friend didn't fill him with dread and a deep belief that someday he would be found out and Alex wouldn't want to be near him.

He tasted like home. That's all that Alex could think. It was just a simple kiss, relatively innocent in the grand scheme of things, but for Alex it felt like a homecoming. Even when he was younger, and still living with his parents, he had never felt like belonged any where; there was never one place above every other one that called to him when he was on the road. No, until now, where ever he had laid his head had been home to him. Now, he knew no matter what happened between them, Chris would always be home for him.

Reality came crashing in and Chris reared back, staring at Alex for a long minute before he hissed out, "I don't need your damn pity, 'Lex. I know you don't -"

"Pity," Alex repeated, suddenly furious. He stood up and pointed at his erection. "Does that look like fucken pity to you, Sabin?"

Chris's eyes focused on Alex's dick and he swallowed thickly, suddenly wanting nothing more then to tackle Alex to the ground.

"Last night, I ran up here and shoved myself under a bed because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself," he went on, his voice quieter now. "Don't ever think the only thing I feel for you is pity."

Chris licked his lips and cleared his throat. "Why?" He asked, his voice husky.

"Why I don't pity you?" Alex asked, frowning in confusion.

"No, fucktard," Chris answered, smiling slightly as he stood up and looked Alex in the eye. "Why did you control yourself? I mean, obviously you know I want you, too, so why?"

"I was an _animal_ last night, Chris," Alex sputtered, backing up a step, trying to keep some distance between the two of them. "Don't you think it would have been strange if I had jumped you then?"

Chris shrugged, unconvinced. "Alright, but what about now? We're both the same now."

He stepped forward, raising an eyebrow when Alex backed up another step. Smirking, Chris stalked him across the room until he was pressed against the wall.

"It's not that simple," Alex protested, holding out a hand to stop Chris from touching him. "There's something else you don't know, and -"

He broke off when Chris dipped his head and caught Alex's lips in another kiss. It was quick and rough and when Chris pulled back and looked at him, Alex almost forgot what the hell he had been talking about. Chris leaned down again, this time to place biting kisses along Alex's jaw, and Alex moaned before he placed both hands on Chris's chest and shoved him.

"You don't understand, Chris," Alex said, his voice as tense as the rest of him was. "If we do this, if we have sex, it won't be just a one time thing. It won't even be like we're dating. It'll be forever. _Forever_. For the rest of our lives."

Chris rubbed a hand over his chest, looking at his best friend in astonishment. "That's why you stopped me, asshole? Fuck, as if I wanted it to be only a one time thing."

"It won't be the same as being married," Alex warned him, his body still taut. His wolf was pacing around inside of him, urging him to go to Chris, _to his mate_, and it was all Alex could do to stay where he was. "You're my mate. Like, my other half," he explained, watching Chris's face.

"I didn't realize it until last night, but there it is. If we do this, it won't be something you can ever walk away from; we'll be tied together by more then just words."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Chris asked quietly, slowly closing the space between them. "For two years, I haven't been able to even look at another person and find them attractive; for two years before _that_ I fucked almost anyone I came across, trying to get you out of my head; trying to convince myself that what I felt for you was a crush, was some passing thing that I would get over. I tried not to see your face, imagine you underneath me, any time I fucked anyone else.

"I'm telling you now, 'Lex, that I don't care if this is going to tie me to you for the rest of our lives because as far as I'm fucken concerned, I already am."

Alex couldn't help the growl that escaped when Chris mentioned fucking other people; he knew Chris was talking about something that happened years ago but still, the idea of someone else putting their hands on his mate made him want to tear them apart, male or female.

"Jealous, 'Lex?" Chris smirked, moving in close enough that he had Alex against the wall and they were chest to chest. "You shouldn't be; no matter who I was with, it was you I was picturing."

Alex let his hands rest on Chris's hips, his body relaxing for the first time in what felt like hours. He waited for his wolf to object to the submissive position he was in, but there was nothing. Alex could feel his wolf, braced and eager, but there was none of the growling hostility he had experienced any other time he had been in even the slightest submissive position with anyone else.

"Never again," Alex said and he could hear the underlying snarl in his voice. "You're mine and I don't fucken share."

Chris grinned and nipped at Alex's lower lip. "Neither do I. Anything else you feel the need to tell me about?"

Alex smirked and tugged Chris closer until their lower bodies were touching. "Nothing that can't wait until later."

Chris took his lips in a fierce kiss, pushing his tongue inside to fight with Alex's for control. After a minute, Alex pulled back and did something he never would have thought he'd ever be willing to make. He bared his neck, hoping Chris would understand what it meant.

Chris's eyes gleamed and all of a sudden he bit down on Alex's throat. Alex moaned and closed his eyes. He had no idea that it would feel this good to submit to someone. His wolf growled a little at the thought, and Alex revised his last thought. It felt good to submit to his mate, not just anyone.

He forgot everything else as Chris dragged him to the bed and pushed him onto it, covering him after he stripped his boxers off.

A few hours later, Chris propped himself up on his elbow to peer at the alarm clock on his night stand. Groaning, he curled back up behind Alex, throwing his arm around Alex's waist possessively and pulling Alex tight against him.

"What's wrong?" Alex mumbled, a happy rumbling noise coming from his chest.

"It's almost eleven," Chris answered regretfully. "What's that?"

"It's just my wolf," Alex told him, stretching before he turned over onto his back and smiled up at him. "It means I'm happy. Why are you pissed that it's eleven?"

Chris leaned down and gave Alex a brief, tender kiss before he reminded him, "I was supposed to pick you and Petey up by nine and we were going to go set up for the gig tonight."

"I'm sure Petey's expecting you to show up within the next ten minutes then," Alex said, snickering a little.

"Ha-ha," Chris dead panned before he gave Alex another kiss and got out of bed. "I'm going to jump in the shower before we leave. I'll be back in a minute."

Alex nodded and watched as Chris left the room, muttering to himself about his cell phone. After a second, he grinned and jumped up to follow him.

Alex finally found where he belonged and that was wherever Chris was.


End file.
